Little Angel, Go Away
by Subkulture
Summary: Drowning in dept, Lucy and Natsu head off in search of a man's missing wife, only to find a ransacked village and secrets abound. Meanwhile, Erza and Gray tag team with Lyon to investigate the disappearances of citizens across Fiore. / Full S. Inside.
1. Prologue

Warnings: _M - _Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual Themes, And then some. (Pedophillia, Child abuse, Rape, Torture - You name it, this has probably got it.)

Pairing: Gray/Natsu

Notes: I don't condone any of that stuff in the warnings! NOTHING! But my mind scares the living hell out of me most the time by coming up with disturbing things. Inspiration for this fic? None. Maybe bio. I've just had an uncanny fascination with drugs and the sort (the fiction world only people. I did not just crawl out of rehab)

Upload Rate: Every month, I'm hoping.

Summary: Drowning in dept, Lucy and Natsu head off in search of a man's missing wife, only to find a ransacked village and secrets abound. Meanwhile, Erza and Gray tag team with Lyon to investigate the disappearances of citizens across Fiore. Both missions bare an uncanny resemblance to each other, and it traditional Fairy Tail fashion, things were not as simple as they appeared.

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><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

The mountain air was stained with white, haunting and cold and sweet. The shade hung like a morning fog and drifting lazily down the length of the cave. It clung to the walls like leeches, clustered around the ceiling like clouds, and buzzed around the heads of man like mosquitoes; their thirst for blood, contagious. The mist was made of poison, it brought pleasure before pain and left the strongest of men wanting.

In this cave the tiniest of humans crawled. Barely at the age of six, this young girl had the eyes of the dead. Her once vibrant green orbs were now the colour of stone and swamp water. Golden locks, that had once caught the sunlight within its tresses, hung limp and listless. Now its only use as it tumbled down her naked back was as a barrier between her porcelain skin and thirsty eyes.

"How much for it?" an aged voice growled, salaciously. Gnarled hands weaved in and out of each others grasp, writhing with temptation and greed. "Whatever the price, I'll pay."

Next to the man a feral grin bloomed in the darkness. "The price shall indeed be high."

It was a woman's voice that sounded, laced with false dreams and sugar sweet venom; it was this voice that tore away the clients lusty gaze.

"_Whatever_ it takes."

The woman nodded curtly, spun on her heels, and exited the building.

"Follow me, Mr. Mahli. We shall be taking our negotiations elsewhere."

* * *

><p><em>Man: used as a general term for human kind, not a grammatical mistake.<em>

For example, "The Reign of Man"

**A/N**: CHAPTER 1 WILL BE UPLOAD IN TWO WEEKS. Unless I die. Then you're never get it. My reasoning: THIS IS SO FREAKING SHORT IT AIN'T FIT.  
>Sorry for the caps-lock abuse. I'm just trying to get my point across.<p>

Giant thank you to the dear MiyuTanemura who Beta'd this for me. :) She's a doll.

**R&R **Please? 8'D Review's help the writing go faster and maybe I won't fall behind schedule.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Lucy Heartfilia stood stone still, staring down the mission board like it was a stubborn shopkeeper that she could not sway. Her foot tapped a steady beat against the wood, boots riding up her thighs to end in heavy straps and tiny jean shorts clinging to her legs like spider lace. Her deep set scowl antagonized the soft brown leather.

Somehow, defying every earthen law, the bar room had almost doubled in volume. Yelling and laughter mingled together in a concoction Lucy knew all too well. Even as she released an exasperated sigh a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Damn exhibitionist," came a familiar voice, rousing the stellar mage from the absentminded stare that her search had become.

Turning a full one-eighty she caught the eye of her rose haired friend. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets and his head was tilted back to the ceiling so his pose embodied Lucy's tired exhale. Contradicting these features was a bounce in his step and glow to his skin. All these traits had long since become the symbol of his and the aforementioned exhibitionists relationship, they also signalled that the battle had gone spectacularly – meaning that no one had won.

A head of spiked, pink locks appeared over Lucy's shoulder – who had already turned her attention back to the posters. The surprisingly soft strands tickled her ear and she shook her head briskly to drive it away. It didn't work. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy could see Natsu's wild child-like eyes scouting the board just as she had been doing. Only his focus was different then hers; where Lucy's attention had been drawn to the rewards and ranks, Natsu's hovered over the pictures until something caught his eye, then and only then would he dive in for more.

For the second time the mage's voice drew Lucy back down to earth. "What are you looking for?" His tone held its expected innocence and had lost the fake growl from earlier.

"I'm looking for a mission," she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. As she said this, Lucy moved in closer to the board, trying to read a faded number and knocking the dragon slayer from her shoulder. Balance lost, Natsu tumbled to the ground in a heap of mismatched fabrics. Completely ignorant to Natsu's condition, she continued, "I've already passed the payment date for my rent. If I wait any longer I'll be kicked out, you see."

Bouncing back on his haunches, Natsu faced Lucy with a new gleam in his eyes; different from the gleam after his battle with Gray. "Yes! Well then, lets go!" Without even looking, the dragon slayer ripped a random poster off the wall, shoved it inside his vest, and rushed out the door, with Lucy in tow.

Behind them the sound of Fairy Tail faded – an unending party that you never wanted to leave. Not that she minded leaving for a mission. As much as she loved the guild, she also enjoyed the peace and quiet of the rest of the world; being in such a noisy place as the guild had only strengthened that love.

"Hey, do you mind if we stopped to see Happy before we leave?" Natsu asked.

"Eh?" The blond blinked several times as she processed his words. Whenever the rose haired mage switched from the usual gut-busting volume to the average level whatever he said took a second to sink it. "Yeah, of course."

"Great," he grinned. "Thanks, Lucy."

Happy... Lucy had not asked what had happened to him even though she had been dying to. At the moment all she knew was that one day Natsu had come to the guild with a rain cloud over his head that was no fault of Juvia's. Indeed, it had not just been Lucy who bound herself to silence, the whole guild had known to leave well enough alone. But everyone had tried to pitch in, giving the place a cheerier air then normal. Erza had even treated Natsu to a drink and lunch – not a poor man's task – before her and Lucy had skittered away to a preplanned mission. It was a mission that they had originally planned to go on together, the four of them, but without Happy, Natsu had lost his luster and had chosen to stay behind.

By the time Lucy had gotten back Natsu's mood had picked up considerably. He'd even informed the curious soul that Happy was fine and was resting at Wendy's and Charlie's. Since then the matter had been dropped. It wasn't that Natsu hadn't been willing to answer, but that Lucy never had the heart, or the time, to ask. Though the curiosity hadn't quelled inside the stellar mage. Instead the boy had done what he did best; ignite a stilled fire in her.

Suddenly, a dog – shabby and matted – scurried across the unsuspecting duo's path. It's pink tongue ricocheted off its chin to splatter saliva across the street as well as their shoes.

"Temero! Temero, where are you going?" A young voice chirped from Lucy's left.

The dogs path was quickly traced by that of a young girl. A small child – with vibrant green eyes and soft golden locks – darted across the street. She could not have been more than six years old, her frail frame clothed in almost all pink and blue.

Almost as quick as the two appeared, they vanished with nothing but the girls faded call, "Temero," to tell of their presence.

By the time the two mages arrived at the girls dormitory the sun had hit its peak. Flame coloured leaves filtered the light making the shadows and rays dance across their skin. The sun itself had been split in dual hemispheres by the peaked roof over the entrance. Even in the distance they could make out the sign "Fairy Hills", slightly blistered from the wind and rain but still in fine condition.

At the door Natsu took several steps back to allow Lucy to take the lead – it was the girls dormitory after all. Normally men wouldn't be allowed here at all but seeing as it was the middle of the day and most of the residents would be either on missions or at the guild it shouldn't be a problem. Though Natsu did have a history of barging in here on account of Happy; the cat spent an abnormal amount of time at the dorm and was the only male welcomed.

"Natsu! Lucy!" cheered a small voice as the walked in through the front door.

Both mages turned to the source of the call. Happy hovered over the stairs, his wings unfurled to their full length. The entirety of the cats left arm had been wrapped in a thick layer of gauze.

"Happy!" Lucy's hands shot to her mouth, suppressing a gasp. "What happened?"

"It was a fishing accident," the cat explained, his tone dropped to a stinging pout before he quickly changed the subject. "What are you doing here?" With a few quick flaps, the young Exceed was hovering before them. It was obvious that Happy was using his wings to make up for his incapacitated arm.

"We're going on a mission." Natsu perked. "Lucy's behind on her rent."

The fire mages taunting attitude snapped a thread inside Lucy. Following that was a echoed crack as her fist collided with his head. "Ow! What was that for?" His hands pulled at his hair as he doubled over.

"For making me sound irresponsible! You're a hundred years too early to be calling me that." Lucy scolded. Her fist pinched to her chest as she glared down at the rose headed brat and the quivering Exceed.

"Happy?"

The blond blinked before turning to the stairs. There standing on the landing was a small girl, twelve years old with long black hair that fell below her shoulder blades and a light summer dress to match the out of season heat.

"I was wondering where you went." She smiled.

"Oh, hi Wendy."

"Wendy!"

The young dragon slayer's appearance snapped Natsu out of his concussion, he bounced back on his heels and waved wholeheartedly.

Wendy started bouncing down the stairs. "What are you two doing here?"

"Just dropping by to see Happy before we head out," Lucy responded, flicking out her fist.

A curious expression befell the young healers features. "But, I though you and Erza went on a mission last week."

Immediately Lucy's shoulders slumped. "Most of the reward went toward the damages," she whined softly at the memory. Even worse was that no amount of feminine charm on her part could get those steel boned citizens to lower the cost. "I only earned enough to pay for dinner. That's why I need this job. Though I haven't seen the mission yet. Natsu still has it."

"Shouldn't you look at it? How will you know where to go if you don't?"

Natsu blinked from his spot on the floor; though neither girl new exactly when he ended up down there. Both mages watched him carefully process the information, his naked arms crossed and his pink brow furrowed in thought. With puppy innocence, he returned his sight to the two girls.

"How will we know?"

"_Look at the piece of paper, you idiot!_" Lucy shouted, lashing out at the boy with a shelled foot. Next to her, Wendy was almost doubled over with laughter. "_Jeez_, what are we going to do with you?" Plucking the paper from Natsu's vest, she flipped it open and scanned the stained page. According to the ad the man who posted the job's name was Micheal Demetri, he was currently residing in a small town outside Oshibana. The job description was fairly simple; find and bring back his fiancé who had been taken by Volcans almost a week ago that day.

Oshibana was a several hour train ride away from Magnolia, a great relief to the stellar mage. This meant that she wouldn't have to walk the better part of the way; so she'd only have to walk the distance between Oshibana and Micheal's town.

The same couldn't be said for the fire mage travelling with her. Natsu's motion sickness was going to be a problem. The throwing up, and the dizziness, and the – hopefully – passing out. Already Lucy could tell that it would not be a pleasant ride.

Like he had read her thoughts, the fire mage pipped up from his spot on the floor, "We're not going to go on a train, are we?"

Lucy's palm collided with her forehead. This was going to be a long mission and she knew it.

* * *

><p>Erza's eyes followed the two departing members of her team with a calm listlessness. Her hand was leaving an indentation in her jaw and her armoured elbow was digging into the table. Across from her, Gray was trying desperately to ignore Juvia – who had somehow gotten the idea to out rightly flirt with the poor ice mage. He was doing exceptionally well in handling Juvia though. Somehow the ice mage was ignoring her flirting, remaining equally oblivious all the while, and also holding up his end of a four way conversation between her, Gajeel and Levy.<p>

Soon the red heads attention drifted, as did Gajeel's and Levy's. Her brown eyes scouted the room. Many of the wooden tables were full and liquid stained, it was either the yellowish tint of beer or the darker shade of water. Now that the guild was open to citizens a fair few of the tables have been filled up. But it was still true that the majority of Magnolia avoided the guild due to its destructive tendencies.

A spontaneous crash burst through the room; said room falling instantly silent, all heads turning to the shadowed figure standing in the doorway. A woman in her early to mid forties stood there, her breath coming in short rasps.

Not wasting any time, Erza sprung to her feet, rushed over to the woman, and grasped her shoulders lightly. Following close on her heels were Gray, Juvia and Levy.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?" she asked urgently. The woman had already started to lean into her grasp, looking like she'd run from Clover Town to get here.

"Please..."

"Please?" Behind her, Erza could feel Gray and Juvia exchange a look.

Just then the woman's legs gave way. Had it not been for the weapon masters hands holding her in place she would have fallen into a heap on the floor.

"Please," a weak hand grasped Erza's forearm and tear stained eyes sent waves of silent pleading into the mages own brown pools.

"Please, save my daughter, save my Poppy."

* * *

><p><em>Temero: Latin – according to google translate – for poisoned or defiled(adj).<em>

A/N: I've had this written for a month or so, so there isn't much to say except to give a warm thank you to Ms. MiyuTanemura for Beta'ing it and rescuing me - and ya'll - from all of my mistakes.

The next chapter will feature Erza and Gray and we shall figure out what happened to Poppy (sort of) and some more info will be announced.

**R&R** and I will love you forever - and maybe finish Ch.3 /D I'm starting to fall behind.

The next chapter will be released _Tuesday, Dec. 20th. _So if you like where this is going then hold tight until then. If you don't like, then thanks for making it this far :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

An armoured hand hovered over soft fingers. It was Erza's attempt to calm the woman, taking responsibility as the adult at the table. Her warm brown eyes brought all the calmness of a summer garden as she waited for the other to prepare herself – the woman's hand slowly wiping the tears away. Next to said woman was Levy, her hand spinning soothing circles into the small of the her back. Gray, on the other hand, had taken his place on Erza's left. He had distanced himself by a chair, a scowl embedded onto his features.

At long last the tissue was crushed in her palm, a stray tear falling down her cheek.

"My name is Bonnie, Bonnie Perdetta. I've come about my daughter, Poppy," she started, mechanically. "Two nights ago she vanished from her bedroom. I just couldn't wait for the request to be filled out and came here. So please!" Her hand snatched at the warrior's, tugged and squeezed at the cold metal shell. "Please, you have to help her."

"Did you try talking to the police?" Gray grunted. All heads snapped to him when he asked it, attracted by the cool business demeanour. But his head was just propped up on one hand, his brow creased with something indecisive.

"Yes," Bonnie whispered at last, "I have. But they said that they couldn't do anything other than place posters. You – Your guild – is my only option."

"You're sure that she didn't just wander out at night?"

The woman adopted a purely aghast look at this statement. "Of course not! Poppy would never do something like that. She knows how dangerous it is outside. Especially at night."

"Don't worry about your request, Mrs. Perdetta." Erza smiled sadly. She was obviously disheartened by the girls disappearance. Across from the red head, Levy was wearing an equally sad look, but smiles were contagious and soon they had spread across the table. "So why don't you start from the beginning?"

"It was three days ago," she started slowly, tasting the words on her tongue. She then went on to recap the night when Poppy disappeared. She told how she went in to check on her daughter and wish her goodnight but when she went into the room, it was empty. Nothing was out of place either, when she went in there. Nothing but the ruffled sheets and a half opened window.

With that out of the way, the woman rose to her feet. A small, content smile touched her lips, pulling at the corners of her mouth and brightening her face back to beauty. Hair, the colour of toasted bread, fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls. She quickly offered the guild members a quick bow then fled the room. The weighted hem of her dress fluttered like broken bird wings behind her.

"Okay," Gray started once the room – which had grown eerily quiet upon the woman's arrival – that had returned to its normal thunderous volume. "Where should we start?"

An armoured finger wrapped softly against the wooden bar table. The movement was hypnotic in both its simplicity and repetitiveness. After several seconds of this silent pondering the weapon master answered, "We'll talk to the neighbours. If she did just wander off at night then it's possible that someone saw her."

"And if not?"

"If not then maybe they will know something about where she could be." As an afterthought, Erza added quickly, "Or what took her." The small, three person group grew silent again.

Marijane was not long in joining them, quickly dispatching two glasses of cold beer and an equally cold glass of water in front of the trio. With the steel saucer clutched to her chest, she carefully poked and probed the trio for information; anything that was necessary to tell the Master and anything that she needed to quell her curiosity. A small wave later and she was making her way down the hall to find the old guild master.

In one tentative movement, Levy pulled back a strand of baby blue hair before fitting it behind her ear. As it settled, the script mage pushed against the table and straightened up into a standing position. "While you two are doing that," she announced, her voice becoming more cheerier with the prospect of reading and working, "I'll search through the records to see if there have been anymore kidnappings."

"Thank you Levy," Erza smiled as she and Gray both kicked back their own chairs. In the following seconds the table ha been deserted, the trio dispersing into two groups before each vanishing from that section of the guild.

The two mages walked down the road as inconspicuously as possible. As members of Fairy Tail, this is virtually an impossible task. The elder of the two was covered in silver armour that shot sunlight back into the eyes of onlookers like it was a shower of bullets. The other mage was barely covered at all, his lower half was decorated by swamp green jeans with a silver chain hanging off the the right hip. His top half had been left naked beyond his signature necklace and royal blue emblem. Even standing in the shadows, these two were far too easy to spot. By the time they had arrived at their destination the entirety of Magnolia had grown aware of their presence; whispers of "_Why?_" spreading through the town like wildfire. It was a rare day when the citizens saw Titania Scarlet prowling the streets on official business.

"Let's start here," Erza announced. She brought up spontaneously, causing the unsuspecting Gray to dodge around her. She didn't seem particularly worried that her voice was carrying in the overpopulated street. Her companion waited for her in rueful silence, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

It was only when the door creaked open that he perked up. Hovering just between the crack in the violet wood and the oak siding was an elderly lady, her wrinkled face carrying a map of her life in a stubborn scowl. A monochrome shawl adorned her shoulders, decorated by a pollock of shades, ranging from glaring white to ashen grey. When she spoke, her voice came out as a deep throat rattle. "Can I _help_ you kids?"

Thankfully, Erza put up with the woman's blunt rudeness. She smiled and stepped forward. "We're members of-"

"Yes, I know who you are," she interrupted snappishly. "You're part of that rotten Fairy Tail guild. Now spit out what you want before you go and destroy my house."

The warrior's kind exterior dissolved then, her eyes growing as cold as the woman's before her; her hands transcending into tight fists. Surprisingly, the woman did not flinch as many would. But her hand tightened on her shall and her own eyes narrowed to slits, she was the owner of a steel backbone which earned her several points in Erza's book.

"We're looking into the disappearance of a small girl. She lives around here. We were wondering if you knew anything about her or of any other disappearances."

There was a short pause. The woman's crow feet deepening into canyons that stretched back into her temples and her hand played with her shawl to pull it tight against her back. The seconds ticked by before she made a move, opening her door wide, stepping to the left, and beckoning them in.

It wasn't long before both mages were seated at the kitchen table, watching as the elderly woman bustled around the the small room, flicking on burners and taking down mugs for tea. Only when the kettle was boiled and the drinks had been set before her company did she begin explaining.

"A month ago my niece and nephew both disappeared. My niece was fifteen and more than able to take care of herself. She was even planning to join a guild – against my better judgement, I'll add. My nephew was seven years older than her and even more capable of defending himself. So whoever took them had to be skilled."

"How do you know they didn't just run away?" asked Erza, mimicking Gray's question to Bonnie earlier that day.

The woman's head snapped around to Erza, her brows knitting together even tighter.

"A little girl runs away," she snarled, driving a crisp, hot dagger into their thoughts of Poppy. "But a fifteen year old and a twenty-two year old would not do something so silly. If Sadie had wished to move out she could have done so without causing so much grief and Curt was already living on his own at the time."

"Then how did you learn that he was missing?"

Immediately, the woman's eyes turned down to her drink. "It was after Sadie went missing. Naturally, one of the first things her parents did was try to contact Curt. Whether she was with him, on her way or in trouble he had a right to know."

"And?" Erza prompted softly. Her and Gray's tea lay to the side, both had grown cold, clammy and forgotten.

"And nothing," she shrugged. "There was no answer for days. My sister was growing ill with worry because of it all too. So her husband left the city to go search for his son. He and his wife lived in Oshibana at the time and their son lived in a small town north of there. It wasn't a long trip even, but when he got there..." She paused briefly, took a sip of her tea, and stared into the distance. Only at Erza's pestering motion did she continue. "Vulcans had attacked the village. And with so many people hurt... Everything in the village was a mess; houses included."

Curt's house was empty when my brother-in-law got there. It was just a mess of destruction and blood. There was a large spot on the wall and smear marks on the floor, leading out to the back door. What was described as an execution-style murder."

The red head's scowl grew, her features drawing themselves tight. "He thinks his son is dead?"

"I don't know." The woman's snapping tone returned like a blast of hot air. "All I know is that my niece and nephew were taken and someone better be doing something to get them back." And with those as her concluding words, the lady rose from her feet and began clearing off the table. "Now I want you two to go." Neither mage needed further encouragement and without hesitation they stood and left.

Outside they found long dusty clouds creeping across the sky. Soft tendrils stretched out from them along the darkening sky; midday had long since passed in a haze of sorrowful moodiness. The street stones looked dull against their feet. Erza's head, normally carried high and proud, had slipped down into sea-deep contemplation. There was just too much to take in, so many connections yet to be made. Until those were made the information remained in a storm of words and locations, like a pack of hungry wolves chasing down its prey.

Taking a soothing breath, Erza stopped, spun on her heels, and retreated back towardsas the guild. Leaving a slightly baffled Gray in her wake.

* * *

><p><em>Perdetta: Italian for the word "Loss" according to Google translator.<em>

A/N: I am sorry for being delayed... but I don't keep track of the day of the month very well.

This is a chapter that I had already written - before I'd even started posting Little Angle. But I don't have any more chapters written to this date. I need to catch up, quick. So, for now, I'll say that chapter 3 will be released a month from today on the 24th of January. But no promises.

But hey :) It's Christmas holidays. I should be able to catch up. Right?

A special thanks to my lovely beta, MiyuTanemura. :) Give her stories some love~ (She'd kill for some nice reviews ;))

**Reviews **make the world go round~

Remember~ _Tuesday, Jan. 24th~_ _:D_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Natsu's legs wobbled threateningly before giving out, dropping the boy to the sidewalk in a crumpled heap in front of the Oshibana station. His stomach was still giving disgruntled lurches even though the train had long since pulled away from the station. Inside his skin, the Salamander's muscles had turned to jello; motion sickness proving that, once again, it was the victor.

"Jeez! Why did I even let you come?" Lucy scowled. Both her fists had been fiercely planted on her hips and her toes tapped a violent beat into the concrete.

The boy could only groan in despair before drawing a sharp breath and rising to his feet. In turn, his stomach gave a protesting punch – suddenly Natsu was glad that Lucy was so terrifying, she could get him moving almost as quickly as Erza by beating the fear into his brain that quelled his stirring stomach. Two pendulum sways later and the rose headed mage was chasing down the blond with a limping shuffle.

Movement doused the twisting, bubbling sensation in his gut. Soon Natsu was bouncing along behind his companion, both arms slung lazily behind his head. Lucy was drifting from side to side, eyes lingering on every fashion, craft, or general magic store that they passed. The zigzagging pattern she created was making Natsu dizzy again as she drifted over from one shop to the other, spying in the windows and unconsciously creating a trend. Her main priority seemed to be anything related to looks – makeup shop, clothing stores, hair salons – and with every shop that she looked into, Lucy seemed to grow a little more depressed.

"Waah! This is frustrating!"

Natsu jumped, startled by her outburst. Tentatively he watched as Lucy wrung the life from her wallet. The way the leather twisted and cracked under her strength made the Salamander's heart pang with worry and fear; he was glade that it was only a wallet, not his neck.

"There are so many nice things here but I can't buy _any of it_."

"Lucy-"

"Don't you say a word!" she snapped, causing the dragon slayer to flinch away, his mouth snapping shut with an audible click. His brow twisted up into his hair line with concern, honestly fearing for his own life. Lucy seemed to quickly catch this motions and promptly apologized, shuffling awkwardly down the street.

The two continued to walk in companionable silence through the streets. Upon their arrival the city had grown ominously silent. The people that had bustled around, doing their daily shopping, had slowly disappeared into their houses. It was like they feared unfamiliar faces. Right now, Oshibana's streets weren't completely barren, but the scattered soul that drifted around looked anxious, deeply unnerved by the guild member's presence.

"What's wrong with this place?" Lucy asked softly. Her voice was barely a whisper over the sound of Natsu's whistling. "This is a city right? It shouldn't be this empty. This _quiet_."

"You're probably right, little miss. Oshibana should never be this quiet."

The two mages turned to this new voice. It carried itself across the dirt and stone like an ominous breeze. Now they were sure that the feeling – that something was very wrong – was not just a feeling.

Before them stood a coarse man, claiming the edge of the street with a haughty stance. Every part on him screamed cowboy. Inch long scruff painted his jaw in greys and browns and there was a pale hat planted on his head that hid threads of chocolate hair. A long trench coat fell off his shoulders that was covered in patches and grass stains. "I suspect that you two are members of that Fairy Tail guild?" he asked, tilted his hat back with his thumb and index. "The one that Mikey's always talking about? Come with me, I'll give you a lift."

Natsu paled instantly. "That's fine," he piped quickly. "We'll walk-"

An iron fist planted itself into his ribs and forced him to inch to the left. His eyes searched for the source instinctively, he was just in time to catch Lucy's venomous glare. Then the look was gone and she was all smiles once more.

"We'd love a ride, thank you so much." Natsu's stomach was already lurching.

The man smiled, as if to say "wise choice, little lady", before he turned away from the two mages. With his left hand he beckoned for Natsu and Lucy to follow, tossing a "hurry up. We don't want to keep the old boy waiting," over his shoulder.

Inwardly, Natsu groaned. Lucy's punches were getting more and more violent. Maybe it was the bitterness form being broke, or maybe she had been hanging out with Erza for too long. In either case, the punch had left Natsu's ribs a little more sore.

Pawing at his bruised skin, the dragon slayer turned to Lucy, ready to beg her to reconsider. But she quickly beat him to the punch.

"There is no way that I can walk that far. It's a nameless town miles away from – if that cowboy has anything to say about it – any form of civilization. If he has a ride here for us, I'm taking it."

"Fine," Natsu pouted. "Then I'll walk."

"No you won't." The mage's sharp reply left the boy silent, stunned. "I'm not going to wait for you to get there – and knowing you, you'd lose your way."

"But Lucy!" came the predicted whine. This was met with a smug grin and a flick of golden hair. The fire mage's heart sank as he picked up his feet and, grudgingly, chased his partner down the road.

The ride sat at the edge of the city, parked near group of trees. Twin horses were strapped to the front; clydesdale with silky manes that reached for the ground. Each horse had two soaked hooves that were shielded by thick tufts of hair. Their heads were dipped low, muzzles buried deep into the grass. The carriage was a different matter. Where the horses stood noble, kingly, the carriage that they pulled was trash. There was no roof like many of the magic verticals and there was only one seat – the driver's seat. But that was no loss. It looked as comfortable and anywhere else on the carriage, there was no cushion and no back rest. The rest of the ride consisted of a wooden pan which they would be expected to sit in. Around said pan hay and wood chip lay scattered. This was not meant to carry people.

"Sorry for the harsh shape of this old thing, she was never much of a people person anyway." At first Natsu thought that he was talking about one of the horses but then he patted the carriage fondly and immediately he knew he was wrong.

"That's fine," Lucy replied hesitantly. Like most girls, the celestial mage would always prefer luxury, but in this line of work she would have to make due. "As long as we won't have to walk-" Natsu made an indignant noise, but was wholly ignored- "and, of course, we are more than grateful that you even came."

The cowboy shrugged and clambered up into the drivers seat. "As I said before, Mikey asked me to come. I'm normally about as hospitable as this 'ere old waggon. But it's for a friend." Taking up the reigns, he waited for the two mages to clamber into the pan before giving them and flick, ushering the horses into a steady pace.

Immediately Natsu felt the claws of motion sickness slipping around him. Seconds later he was doubled over the edge of the cart with one hand clapped over his mouth and the other bracing the quivering railing with an equally shaky grip.

"What's wrong with him?" the dragon slayer heard the man ask, it was a mere whisper over the roar in his ears.

Lucy returned her answer swiftly – as if she had expected the question. "Him and moving objects don't get along very well." Then she quickly changed the subject, her tone perking up with friendly conversation. "I'm Lucy, by the way, and my friend there is Natsu."

"A little delayed on the introduction I guess," Micheal's friend shrugged. "But it isn't like I'm better. Name's Sam – cause last names don't seem to exist in this conversation." Natsu could almost smile when he heard the other mage's disgruntled noise; the the carriage hit a pump, sending his gut into a bubbling tantrum.

The rest of the ride passed in a shroud of silence. Occasionally, the whimpering mage could hear his celestial counterpart shifting on her side of the pan. Even in his dazed state, Natsu could feel the ancient wood taking it's toll on his own knees. All feeling had slowly vanished as his veins were pinched off between his bones and the planks. The numbness had spread down to his feet, leaving an incessant tingling in his toes. But the fire mage was too weakened with sickness to shift his position, so instead he welcomed the fact that it was not worse.

Beyond the dragon slayer's line of sight, mountainous terrain morphed into lush pastures and lusher forests. The dry dessert, that held only shrubs and the spare, wilted trees, began to grow grassy fields before Natsu's eyes. Farms filled to the brim with vegetables overtook the view with green. Even though there were no men or women working in these fields they all looked extremely well kept. The rows of different – unidentifiable – vegetables were flourishing under the mid-sun. Sun-kissed leaves spit diamonds at the fire mage. His sickness temporarily forgotten, Natsu sat bar-straight in the carriage's pan, watching as they passed field after field off this luscious greenery.

"Farming is the only way people can survive in this god-forsaken place," explained Sam as he flicked reigns across the clydesdale' backs. "We're so far removed from the city's that it costs more to sell anything than what we get from selling it. So we're better off just making everything ourselves. There are cotton fields out beyond the village to make clothes – along with sheep's wool. I own a small cattle ranch, that's the main source of milk. That and ol' Mikey's goat. Then some of the younger folk own chickens. Cleaned, gutted and with a side order of vegetables, it makes a good Sunday dinner." In response to this description, Natsu's stomach growled and launched itself into its turmoil once more.

Spent, the mage collapsed back against the wall of the pan. His arms rose up to brace him, sweat bursting across the surface of his skin and breath heavy in his throat. He stared longingly at the sky; flying with Happy had never made him feel this ill.

As he watched the clouds rolling past, curious drifts of grey rose in the horizon. Natsu's brow bent down in a confused line as he painfully rose into a proper sitting position. As he did so, he heard Lucy gasp and Sam rumble.

Before him lay their destination. Before him lay fire.

* * *

><p>Okay... I almost missed the deadline again. . If it weren't for my beta reminding me I probably would have cause <em>Biology is stealing my life away<em>! I'm SO thankful I'm graduating this year. No more written exams. It shall be GLORIOUS~!

Anyway, about the chapter. A long time ago I've come to realize that I love cliffhangers. And that I'm hated for it. So, even though I'm sorry for the incredible lack of action (I tried to make up for it with Natsu's PG suffering :P) I'm not sorry for the way I ended it. And you won't know what's happening until chapter 5/7. In the meantime, I do have Ch.4 done but you'll still have to wait a month for it too update. But at the rate that I'm writing I might be able to up that to two times a months. :)

As usual, a special thanks to my angel, MiyuTanemura. Give her some love, yeah? :D

Next update will be on _February 21st, 2012.  
>Reviews make the world go round~ <em>And updates come faster, maybe ;)


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Gray came to a stop in front of the Fairy Tail building. Erza had already gone ahead, Levi was waiting inside with new information she had said even though she hadn't spoken to the mage since they first left the guild. Now that he was away from Erza, Gray had time to think about what they had learned. Over all, it wasn't much. The two incidents could be unrelated after all. Though he doubted that; there was no such thing as coincidences in this line of business. So it was obvious that whoever kidnapped Poppy wasn't just after kids. That meant that Levi should – if she hadn't already – expand her search.

Suddenly, a head of red hair emerged through the doors of the guild. "Are you coming, Gray?" Erza demanded, swinging the doors open to let him in.

"Yeah." Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, the ice mage slipped in through the gap; forced to step over Erza's foot that was holding the door.

Once inside he was met with the familiar smell of beer and people. Per usual, the main room was filled to the teeth with mages eating, drinking and having a generally good time. Only one table seemed any bit sombre. This was the table where Levi and Mirajane were sat, pooring over sheets and sheet of documents. The papers obscured the wood and poured over the sides, pooling onto the floor like ocean foam. When Gray, followed by Erza, entered Marijane looked up and waved, a smile touching her face.

"So," started Erza, all business, "what do you have for us?" Together, Gray and her took the empty seats at the table – though they had to brush off the papers first.

"Not much, I'm afraid." Levi rustled the papers before her, finishing off the last bit of information in a few seconds. She soaked up the information like a sponge and began cleaning off the table so they could have somewhere to eat. It was already past dinner time and Gray could feel his stomach coiling in distress.

Finally, she began. "There have only been a few children disappearances in Magnolia in the last few years. Most of these were found in the first few days of searching. Magnolia's a big place and people can get lost all the time. Others though, have disappeared on family outings, school trips and the sort. Witnesses say that they really don't know what happens to them. It's like they're there on minute and the next they're gone. But all accounts say that the air is left warm and crisp. It made them fell pleasant, lazy and – most notably – unwilling to look for the children. Afterwards I branched out my search to include anyone under the age of thirty-five. There are plenty more unresolved disappearances, and all the witness give the same description; though most of these incidences don't have witnesses." Levi fell silent then, the sheen in her eyes had slowly vanished over the course of her monologue and her mouth now lay in a thin, drawn-out line.

After a brief silence, the mage and Mirajane exchanged a short glance and then the waitress was taking over the speaking.

"Levi told me what was going on after you two left," the platinum haired mage explained. Even when she was talking about such a grim topic, her voice still carried that soft lilt to it, making everything easier. "So I took the liberty to look at other missions issued throughout Magnolia. Because this one isn't official it was a little harder but I got some hits. Ten to be precise, which is incredible small considering the amount of disappearances."

"A lot of people don't trust, or can't afford to hire a guild," Erza graciously explained. "Most people would rather rely on the police or their own power." The entire table nodded at this.

Quickly, Mirajane continued. "I contacted the guilds that these missions where issued from but the majority of them haven't been accepted. In fact, only two of the ten missions where accepted at all. One guild immediately declined our cooperation but the other accepted."

Just as she finished her sentence, Gray's stomach have a fitful growl. Blushing, he shifted in his seat and asked, "who was the guild, then?"

"Lamia Scale," Mira replied. Already she was rising to her feet, hopefully to get the ice mage a meal before sending them out again. He knew it was coming. The members of Fairy Tail never sat still for long. "I've already arranged for you to meet that team up north near Mt. Hakobe. If you're willing."

Erza nodded to this quickly. As usual, Gray's word didn't seem to matter much to the warrior. The red head was all too used to her word being the law in whatever group she was in. Normally they were alright with this and she was always ready to listen when someone wasn't.

This time Gray was not alright with this but this one time he did not think that speaking up would make a difference. There was a simple, and very selfish, reason why he was iffy on working with Lamia Scale. That was the same guild that Lyon had joined after the incident on Galuna Island. Admittedly, Gray was not hyped over working with Lyon again. Their competitive quarrel ran deeper then his and Natsu's – connected by a common tragedy and blame.

The ice mage watched hungrily as Mirajane vanished around the counter. Even from this distance, they could hear her preparing a meal for the young guild member. It made Gray's stomach growl in anticipation.

"We'll head out as soon as you finish eating, Gray," Erza said after several moments of silence. Mira worked quickly on the meal and already they could hear her finishing up. He doubted that it was a complex meal but whatever it was, he would be glad to lay his hands on it. Seconds later a plate filled with toasted sandwich slices and cinnamon-sprinkled apple slices clattered atop the table in front of him.

_Lamia Scale... _Gray though absently, taking his first bite into the sandwich, lettuce clinging to his lips. _I wonder if he will make an appearance. _

Gray and Erza made tracks through the woods. Like Erza had said, the two had left the guild just after Gray finished eating. By that time though, the sun had already started to set on the horizon and the forests had taken on an ominous appearance. The shadows stretched out to extraordinary lengths, molding into the foliage and casting the two mages into semipermeable darkness. It was like the world around them had shut off as soon as they had entered the forest.

They had travelled far that day and by now the two were half way to Mr. Hakobe. This, of course, was thanks to Erza and her magic vehicle. But said vehicle took a lot of magic to keep moving, it was inevitable that they would have to switch to walking.

Tomorrow they expected to meet up with Lamia Scale. Of course neither Gray nor Erza knew who the guild would be sending but they expected to see some familiar faces when they met; fate was funny like that.

Erza stopped then, turning to the left and striding away from the path. "We'll camp here for the night," she explained. "It's too dark to continue safely."

Gray's eyebrows furrows. What could they possible encounter out here in the middle of nowhere? Namely something that either Gray or Erza could not take? The ice mage could not think of anything off the top of his head, so instead of arguing – he was too weary to do that anyway – he simply muttered "Yeah, sure," and tracked the red head off the road.

The space that Erza had picked out seemed nice enough under the shroud of darkness. The forest floor was soft with moss and there was a clearing above their heads to let in the little light that the stars fed them. It was also big enough for the warrior to get a space all to herself. Trees walled the edges of the spaces, their thick branches weaving together in a protective barricade. Already the ice mage was feeling protected.

Tired, Gray collapsed in a pile of dead leaves, shoved his hands under his head and stared at the pacing red head.

"Once we get out of the forest we will have to continue the rest of the way on carriage." Erza stated. She, like the rest of the team, had taken many trips up to Mt. Hakobe and knew all too well the kind of weather they would have to face. The cold may not bother Gray but the precarious terrain could lead to both their downfalls. "We should get some rest before we head out."

Gray frowned. Erza was not one to state the obvious. Not unless there was something on her mind.

As he watched, the warrior froze mid-step, sighed, and turned to Gray.

"What is so important about Mt. Hakobe? Mirajane could not tell us what the mission was about and I..." Her voice drifted off into silence.

Gray could sympathize with her on this note. What could be so important that Lamia Scale had to keep the mission a secret? It was like they needed Fairy Tail's help and were doing everything they could to get it; within reason.

Taking a seat on the moss, Erza continued, "If the children are being taken up there then they have little chance of surviving. The weather is too cold and without proper shelter, food and clothing they would surely freeze to death. None of the people kidnapped were dressed in suitable clothes for that kind of weather."

Gray nodded slowly. "Suitable clothes don't exist for Mt. Hakobe," he stated sadly.

Across the clearing Erza mimicked his motion before lying down on the soft forest floor. "We will find out tomorrow when we meet up with Lamia Scale's team. For now, we rest."

As soon as her eyes dropped the conversation had ended. But, even though it was dark, even though he was tired, a sort of restlessness overtook Gray. He knew all too well what it was like to freeze and even though his training was filled with good memories – of success, failure, and bonding – it was too easy to spin the experience around into a horrifying nightmare. A nightmare that countless people could be facing right now.

Giving up on the sombre thoughts, the ice mage twisted in his bed of leaves and stared into the forest. It was black and unnerving and Gray could swear that there was something staring back at him.

A mighty roar filled the air and, suddenly, sleep was but a distant dream.

* * *

><p>I'm sorry for the update delay. This year is passing so fast to me I'm starting to lose track of the days of the month. Oo It's graduating I tell you. It sucks. (Dresses and dates and planning, if I were a normal teen at least I'd be looking forward to the aftergrad. Go on a big drunk...)<p>

Anyway. Following tradition we have visited Gray and Erza again. And I have left you guys with a cliffhanger. Don't kill me. XD But you'll find out what's happening in... two months. I'm sorry.  
>I'd hoped to get <em>reeeeally<em> far ahead and post every two weeks but I don't see that happening anytime soon - hell, I don't even have Chap.5 finished yet! Forgive? :

Special thanks to the gracious MiyuTanemura for betaing this chapter. Show her some love yeah? : )

.

Next update: _March 20th, 2012_  
>(Hopefully. : Someone needs to give me a good boot when that date comes crawling around.)

_R&R_? : D Keeps me writing and keeps chapters coming~


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Flames jumped to the sky in great bounds, their orange glow obliterating the village where they were born. Excreted from the burning mass were giant plums of smoke – black and endless; blotting out the sky. The mad cackles of the fire could be heard over the wildlife and across acres of land. It was a sickening laugh; the sound of snapping homes, barking dogs and crying children. It was everything that hell would be – consuming red and black and heat and death.

At the head of the carriage, Sam let out a gasp, whipped the reigns and spurred the horses into action. The old ride bucked into a protesting run, hitting rocks and rising feet into the air. Even the clydesdales seemed to realize the urgency that had taken over this leisurely ride. They brayed the protests but their canter did not slow.

When they got close enough to taste the smoke, Lucy pulled her head away, a look of horror embedded into her features. "What could have happened here? For a whole village to..." A series of hacking coughs stopped her mid-sentence and the blonde doubled over in pain.

Natsu seemed to have forgotten his motion-sickness temporarily. Now he sat tall in the pan of the carriage. The smoke billowing past them did not faze the young fire mage but, unlike innocent campfires, this mass did not invigorate him. It sickened him and he would not eat this flame. It would not taste like spicy sugar; it would taste like death.

As they entered the village, Sam slowed the horses to a reasonable pace. Appalled, the trio looked upon the scene with terror-stricken faces. Houses were broken and black, flames whipped from their depths with a vengeance, desperately grasping for something more to burn. And beneath the tangle of charred boards limbs stuck out at odd ends. The young dragon slayer quickly looked away.

All around them there were people rushing around. Children were crying and others where either too young or too shocked to be affected.

Natsu heard Sam swallow hard. "This isn't a big town," he whispered. "By the looks it most survived."

Most. He too had seen the charred remains.

The cowboy continued. "I'll take you to find Mikey then I have to go." Then his voice dropped into deadly seriousness. "And as soon as you finish your business with him you two should leave. After this, we don't need any more tragedy to fall on our town. We may be small but we have big ears, and word of Fairy Tail's destructive force has reached far."

Natsu quietly accepted this. Not that he though it was a good idea. They were Fairy Tail. They _helped_ people, and by the looks of things, this village needed all the help they could get.

Lucy, on the other hand, did not take the statement so lightly.

"What do you mean, that we shouldn't help you?" she raged. Her hands clenched and shook at her sides. "People are dying, Sam. How do you expect us to just walk away?"

"I don't," the man snarled. His face was dark and hidden from Lucy's probing glare. "But I'm telling you to carry on with you mission for Mikey's sake, and ours."

"And yours?"

"Yes." The cowboy flicked the reigns to the left and the horses obeyed without complaint. "If you stay god knows what kind of new misfortune you would bring on the town."

The stellar mage was about to argue back - that they wouldn't bring misfortune, that they would only help, that he shouldn't be so self-centred – but before she could open her mouth, Natsu placed a restraining hand on her forearm. His eyes pleaded with her to let it go and, after several long seconds of staring, she did.

"Fine. Take us to see Micheal."

The sound of the horses hooves made little noise against the gravel. Most noises had been obliterated by the cackle of flames. Sam had been right about this place. It was incredible small. They had entered through the front end of the village and set a careful walking pace. Now, minutes later, they were coming up on the boarding forest.

Beneath the shadow of the trees sat a homely cabin, unscathed by the destruction in front of it. Contrasting the white washed walls, the windows sat dark and foreboding and the door was closed to the world.

"I doubt the ol' boy is home. You'll have to wait inside like good pixies until I send him back," Sam said gruffly. The carriage halted before the house and he turned to look expectantly at them. In response, the two mages jumped out of the pan and began to make their way to the building in silence.

"Pray for us, little lady!" Lucy turned back to the cowboy, but it was too late. Sam had already disappeared around a corner.

The blond smiled sadly, then; "Maybe he's not so bad," she said warmly, turning back to the house. "He did give us a ride." Natsu tried to return her optimism with a smile, but it faltered and died on his lips.

The two exchanged a look and dashed into the village; neither mage was able to bury their helping nature.

**- la -**

Together the two mages crawled onto the front steps of Micheal's house and collapsed. Natsu was better off than Lucy but, despite the abundance of fire, the experience had left him exhausted.

There had only been three casualties in the village. These three people left a large impact on the village nevertheless. It was like Fairy Tail in that sense, lots of different people who shared the same heart. Neither Lucy or Natsu felt welcome in the mourning and had retreated to Micheal's house to wait for his return.

They knew what he looked like now. Dark, brown hair, tanned, weather beaten skin, and sloped, sombre eyes; ones that didn't match his young face, which couldn't have been older than thirty. Once someone had pointed him out, Micheal had become a distinguished figure in the small town. Most inhabitants held their heads high, their eyes bright and faithful – even in this time of tragedy. He, on the other hand, had been beaten down by countless storms and his shoulders showed it. Slumped over forever by the weight of the world.

So when a lone silhouette came crawling out of the night the two mages sat up alert on the step.

"You must be the Fairy Tail mages," he rasped. You could hear the weariness in his voice. Natsu expected that it was reflected on their faces. "I'm sorry you had to arrive a such a time. Really." A light smile touched his face and slowly, the man worked his way around the two, unlocked the door, and slipped inside. The door was left hanging for the Natsu and Lucy to follow. "I'll tell you why I sent for you now, then we can all rest. Use if for sleeping or recuperation. It doesn't matter. You're welcome here for as long as you want."

He was all business, this Micheal, Natsu noted as he took a chair at the dining table. Lucy did the same, her eyes following their employer as he hurried around the kitchen, running water and soaking towels. When he passed the towels out the dragon slayer all but purred in contentment. Natsu loved fire, didn't mind mud and dirt, but there was nothing like he warm, cleaning press of a towel – or bath – after a long day.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until morning?" Lucy asked, scrubbing vigorously at the dirt.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Silence filled the air then. No one seemed to know what to say. Micheal's jaw worked around the words he wanted to say, looking like a cow chewing it's cud. The question's he was asking himself seemed to fly across his face; where do I start? How much do I tell them? Should I get them involved?

A low rumble spun itself throughout the kitchen, causing Natsu to look down sheepishly at his stomach. Hunger had gotten the best of him, it seemed. His stomach growled once more, causing Lucy to groan softly into her palm and, amazingly, Micheal to chuckle.

"Alright," he smiled. Laughing, the man rose to his feet, tossing his own towel over his shoulder. "I suppose our conversation can wait till morning. Your friend here sounds like he could eat a horse and I'd rather not put my stallion at risk."

Finally, Lucy to gave in to the laughter. "Okay," she said through a series of light giggles. "It'll have to wait then."

Natsu grinned. He could feel his stomach bracing for another gurgle even as it clenched at the thought of food. The fire mage couldn't remember the last time he ate, but right now Micheal's stallion was looking pretty good. The workout helping out the village had given him had obviously stirred a starving monster; though he was grateful for the mood lift it had caused. "What do you have to eat?"

"Natsu! Don't be rude!"

Micheal laughed again, a nice laugh like Christmas bells – a shame that people didn't get to hear it much. "It's okay. He can demand all he likes. It's been a while since I had such young guests over anyway." With a snap of his wrists he cracked two eggs, that neither mages had seen him get, into a waiting frying pan. Quickly the room filled with the sound of sizzling fat and the smell of browning whites. "If you want to grab a quick bath you can, Lucy," Micheal said.

The celestial mage sighed happily. "Thank you so..." her sentence died on her lips – Natsu knew exactly what she realized. He shouldn't know Lucy's name. He would know Natsu's, Lucy had said it, but not her's.

Furrowing his brows, Natsu asked, "How did-"

"I know her name?" he finished, arching his own eyebrows into his hairline and smiling softly into the pan. That expression never seemed to go away, and rarely touched his eyes. "Sam told me when I thanked him for picking you up. Just before I returned here."

"Oh." The mage blinked down at the table. _Of course..._

"Anyway," Micheal continued. "The bathroom is down the hall, second door on the right." Lucy nodded as Micheal looked her up and down, taking in the sight of her dirt and ash ridden clothes. "I don't have any clothes that will fit you, but my wife's bath robe is in there. You can change into that when you;re done."

"Alright, thank you." Quickly slipping off the chair, the blonde made for the hall.

"Wait." Lucy turned, her foot skipped across the floor tiles. Across the kitchen Micheal gave an eye-closed grin. "You _can_ take as long as you want. I had a wife, I know how much you woman like to enjoy your baths."

With a roll of here eyes, Lucy stuck out her tongue at her harasser and hurried down the hall.

* * *

><p>.<p>

What can I say about this chapter... I hope it's more fun? I tried for that, or I think I didn't since it's been a while since I wrote it.

Any case. The next update will be on _April 24th 2012_

And it won't be a long chapter but it'll definitely be a turning point for Erza and Gray. You already got a hint of what's going on it Chap.4. Cause I'm evil and leave you with lots of cliff hangers. Keeps you reading, right?

Right?

_Reviews makes the world go round :D_

And my thanks to the grand Ms Miyu, my regular implacable beta. Give he some love ya'll~


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Gray twisted to his feet and a silvery flash of claws clipped his left ear, landing where he had lay a second earlier. Behind him the clearing was filled with a blinding flash of light, the clang of metal and flesh wounds sounded. His eyes, gone small with adrenaline, shifted around the clearing in search of more attackers. He found plenty of them.

The forest was littered with eyes. Big and small, they glowed in the night's shadows. Lower set red orbs drew his attention to forest hounds while others, a sickly yellow, stood tall amongst the trees. Before him and standing five feet was an albino mountain wolf. Large teeth protruded from it's bottom jaw, fur had been replaced by scales and claws, as thick as table legs and hard as steel, extended from it's feet to bury themselves into the earth. One, Gray knew, was nicked with his blood. He could feel the steady, speedy trickle. His shirt was dampening with red.

No question's were asked as Gray and the wolf charged one another. The beast, he discovered, was as quick as it was deadly. Together then danced with uncanny motions. Gray didn't feel the magic whip through his body at the punch of his hands, and the twin ice blades sprouted from his elbow and wrist unconsciously. There was a yelp and the transparent ice was splashed in red.

"Erza!" Gray bit out, retreated just as two more wolves crashed into the clearing. Their fangs where barred in vengeful anger, but already the brother was rising; its stomach wound a mere scratch. "What the hell is this?"

"I don't know," came her icy reply – which chilled even the ice mage. In the corner of his eye Gray saw her blade lash out and two forest vulcans went flying.

With a low snarl, Gray returned to his own opponents. The wolves lived in these woods, he had known that for years, but they didn't attack people without initiative. As far as the ice mage knew, lying around and attempting to sleep was _not_ the initiative they were looking for. And the forest vulcans were another matter all together. Those beast resided in the eastern forest, which was miles away from their location. They lived, breathed and died around Oshibana; they had _no_ place here.

One beast, the bigger of the two new wolves, snarled and leaped towards Gray. It caught him off guard and the mage barely had to the time to parry the attack. Rolling to the left, he brought one of his ice blades before his face. His heart thrummed nervously in his chest. Two of the wolves began circling him, searching for an opening. The other, the wounded one, grinned and snapped in front of Gray, each motion bringing him closer to his opponent.

The sounds of Erza's fight turned into a distant haze, he was minimally aware of the sound of howling vulcans. The foul beasts were no match for the S-rank mage. But the wolves Gray faced stood in a league of their own. Smarter, faster and, by far, more ruthless. How Gray had gotten stuck with the short end of the stick he would never know.

Gray launched himself across the clearing, taking the wolf's broadside. Both of them flew back, the latter softening the landing. Its teeth gritted against the impact, it's head spasmed, long fangs scrapped against Gray's skin, a long gash stretched down his arm.

Too late, Gray jumped away. His hand pressed to the wound as sealing ice spread out from his fingertips to stop the bleeding. That didn't make his arm any more useful, though. The pain subsided as the numbing factor of his ice cut in but the tooth had torn through nerves and tendons to get to that depth and now his arm hung limp at his side. His magic rendered obsolete.

Snarls echoed from behind him. Gray turned to face the remained two wolves.

Only the two had multiplied into twelve and Erza's few forest vulcans had doubled as well. They couldn't survive like this.

As if reading his mind, Erza landed beside Gray. The shine of her armour alone seemed to keep the beasts at bay... For now. "We can not stay here."

"I know," Gray shot back with a low snarl. Without further talk the two broke out into a run.

The trees surrounded them. They were in the beasts' territory now but the forest dwellers were too big to maintain the same speed as Erza and Gray. If they were, both of them would be dead by now.

"You go that way and I'll go this way. If we stay together we'll be easier to catch." Before Gray could utter a defence she speed off to ward the north.

Left alone, Gray mimicked her movements. The forest terrain was hard to get through and low baring branches where around every tree, attempting to snag Gray's clothes or knock him off his feet completely. Behind him he could still hear the sounds of pursuit. Thankfully it was not the sound of the stronger wolves, but several vulcans.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! How could they get caught in a trap – for that's what it was, right? - this early in the game? No one even knew they were on this case, so how could someone set a trap? The mission hadn't even been put through the council for approval; one-hundred percent unofficial.

The roar of a vulcan sounded from his left. It was close. Too close, and quickly he changed his route, aiming to get himself farther away from his enemies.

His foot brought up in a tree and his whole world was pulled taut. "_Shit!_" His upper body was thrust forward, swinging to the ground, while his foot stayed frozen to the ground, caught between the root and the forest floor.

With a sharp tug and a gut-wrenching snapping sound, pain flared and an uncensored cry escaped his throat. Without looking, without analyzing, Gray knew his ankle was snapped.

"Looks like running is now out of the picture," he laughed. Now he was talking to himself, just what he needed. Not only was he handicapped, insanity was setting in.

Slowly, agonizingly, Gray pushed himself back on his elbows. His eyes were small in his head as he scanned the foliage. The ground shook and the air filled with the yowls of gorillas. It sent premonitions of doom up his spin.

He was still chuckling when the shadow of a beast bore down on him.

* * *

><p><span>AN:Um... sorry for the delay. I'll update chapter 7 next Thursday.

Love a review! :)

And send some love Miyu's way. For beta'ing, even though atm she can't remember it. XD


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Natsu trudged past roots and trees alike. Mud climbed to his knees in thick globs, flecks had even flicked from his heels to the small of his back. The young fire mage didn't mind getting dirty, loved it actually, but he was thankful that Lucy was not here. His partner didn't share his neutrality for dirt.

Knowing what she would have had to face, Lucy had stayed behind to help the locals clean up after the tragedy. She had planned to set up a care centre for people who had lost their homes, serving food and medical care as well as beds, clothes and whatever they could pull out of villagers whose belongings had survived. Before Natsu had got to leave though, she had given him a mouthful of instructions. Warning him to be careful, to not get distracted, and so forth.

In front of Natsu, Micheal scurried across the forest floor like he was born there, and that probably wasn't a far fetch. His house being only a hairs breath away from the woods, Micheal had most likely grown up playing within the trees, as did most boys in the village. What the girls did, Natsu didn't know.

They seemed to have been walking for hours, but had gained no leeway. The mage was beginning to tire.

"It's only a bit further," Micheal reassured, reading the boy's mind.

Sure enough, seconds later they burst into a clearing. Light filtered past the foliage and scattered across the untouched leaves in a brilliant mirage. Micheal slowed upon entering the clearing and Natsu happily mimicked his movements, skipping and skidding over the wet leaves. Mounds of white rock sat in the shadows all across the clearing, bordering the edges of light like they feared they would burn to ash upon contact. Natsu marvelled at it. _Lucy would have loved to see this,_ he mused, _and Happy. _

Micheal stepped slowly into he clearing. Natsu remained frozen in awe. With one fluid, sweeping motion he called the fire mage's attention to him. "This was where my wife was kidnapped."

"Wife? I thought she was your fiancé?"

Together the two made a comfortable spot in the grass. "Yes. She is, but calling her my wife make her feel... Closer to me, somehow." He looked up sheepishly. "I'm crazy aren't I? But what the hell. Not so bad, being insane.

"Anyway, I suppose you want to hear whar went down." Natsu nodded. A bird cawed and the little dragon slayer smelt the freshly spilt blood of prey. Everyone had to eat, he remembered Igneel telling him that a long time ago. Even vulcans, but what they would want with this man's fiancé escaped him – though he was about to find out, maybe. "She normally comes out here for walks. I don't. But I did that day, obviously since... since I know what happened I guess. And... I forgot to tell you her name." He laughed again, the pink haired mage was starting to recognize it to be a sign of his nervousness. This would take time.

Micheal tried again. "Farah, her name was Farah. It mean's joyful, happiness, mirth, and it fitted her so. She was the most cheerful person I know. She was always smiling. It made her a great healer and she worked well with everyone. Everyone loved her, even when the city sent us an official medic to take her place most of them turned to Farah, and she ran to them happily. It was like she loved the task of healing more then her own husband-to-be," he joked. The smile adorning his features now was sad.

"Farah liked taking walks in her time off. It was her thinking time, she claimed, and I never hindered her. In fact, I pressed her to go, claiming that it would be healthy. The day she disappeared she had decided that it was time to give me one of our wedding gifts, or so she claimed. She took me here, to this spot, said it was her magical place where she went to when she had something really pressing on her mind." He wrung his hands together absently, the knuckles turning so white Natsu feared that his bones would break the skin. "That was the day she disappeared. No. She was kidnapped. Vulcan's came down and took her away."

His hands clenched, his lip pulling down in a grotesque, uncharacteristic snarl. Such a, seemingly, happy man shouldn't be snarling. "She passed out from the sight of them. I couldn't blame her and I still don't. The foul creatures were covered in the blood of their supper. I didn't even realize that they bloody things were _carnivorous_! One of them picked her up and ran away and when I gave chase. I'm not strong. Not by a mage's standards. So there was no way I could take on one vulcan, let alone half a dozen."

He sounded desperate. Very desperate, and Natsu frowned as he watched the man work his hands together in a sad attempt to ease his pain. Micheal's loss was obvious by the way that he had brought Natsu here, and the way that he practically blamed himself for her kidnapping.

The mage grinning, shooting to his feet. "Don't worry, we'll get her back!"

In turn, Micheal looked up and blinked at the youth. Then he laughed. It sound choked but it was honest nevertheless. "I know you will," he assured, rising to his own feet, draping a hand over Natsu's shoulders. "In fact, your paycheck is counting on it."

Natsu noted the strained humour and laughed alongside Micheal easily. Now he would have to finish the job – for Lucy's sake, though that was the last thing in his mind. He could remember when Romeo begged for someone to find his dad; Natsu had left to seek out Macao only to find him in a mountain vulcan cave. Macao was severely injured, if Natsu and Lucy hadn't found him when they did... The fire mage avoided those thoughts, but it didn't stop him from fearing that the same fate would befall Farah.

He felt his employer shift around him, pulling his arm away from Natsu's shoulders as he did so.

That was when Natsu got a sniff of the clearing. A _real_ sniff.

Micheal's movements had stirred the plants at their feet. These plants had been pressed flat, imprinting the vulcan's footprint. But vulcan's liked to swing on trees despite their immense size - which should come as no surprise seeing as they we're monkeys, albeit over grown ones – and it would have been a waste of time and energy, which could have been used to do more productive things. When Micheal moved his feet had twisted the leaves into attention, and the smell of vulcan feet had followed it.

/

Lucy prowled the village looking for a light plank to lift, or a warm face to go toward. Everyone here was scowling. She could not blame them, their village was destroyed; and to their credit, not one of them had giving her a foul looking. They remembered her from the day before.

She smiled as a little boy darted past her. He remembered her from yesterday as well, she waved as he past. She remembered him as well. He had hair the colour of Erza's, though it wasn't as long, and, like yesterday, his cheeks were smudged with dirt and soot alike. Lucy remembered his hair, but she couldn't for the life her remember the name.

She watched at he caught sight of something and bolted toward the woods.

Then she saw what he saw.

"Micheal!" she sung as he came into hailing range. He waved to her but even from that distance she saw how drawn his face looked. It was more then just fatigue from an early morning trek through the woods, he was a man that could have travelled that root countless times running and would never tire. He bore farmers muscles and carried so many callouses on his hands you could barely distinguish them from flesh.

Sprinting to him, she counted the people who had come back with him.

None.

Where was Natsu?

Asked as much, she received only a head shake. Micheal gestured toward the boy before kneeling down next to him and ruffling his hair.

"Hey, Obi," he grinned. The weariness seemed to be washed from his face. "How ya' been, hm?"

The kid scowled and shoved his hand away viciously. "It's _not_ Obi, Mike." Lucy had to respect him. He couldn't have been ten years old but already he was talking like an adult. "It's Brian. How do you get 'Obi' out of that?"

"'Cause Brian is your middle name, squirt."

Lucy laughed, making her presence known. Sensing that she wanted to talk to Micheal, the boy moved respectfully away; probably hunting down some bug, or parent. The blonde had yet to see either one of his parents. The most she knew was that neither of them had passed in the fire. They were just wherever she wasn't.

The man remaining straightened with a grunt, muttering about how he was too old to even bend down. Lucy didn't believe it. "Hey, Luc'. What is it?"

She glanced around, rather then speaking, making it obvious that she was looking for someone who wasn't there. To clarify she added a greeting and, "Where's Natsu?"

"Don't know." The woods now looked more ominous than before. The sun had reached its peak long ago and instead of the vibrant greens that the two mages had awoken to the forest had morphed into looming masses of malformed trunks and murderous limbs; or was at least getting there. Lucy didn't like the idea that Natsu was in there alone. Besides, the fire mage was infamous for getting lost. "Natsu took off after I finished telling him what had happened. To be honest, he looked like the basset hound I had as a kid. The only thing left for him to do was howl like a crazy and run off barking. Though trust me, he did plenty of barking, that mage."

She should have gone. Natsu needed someone to restrain him, he needed someone cautious and someone who had some semblance of common sense – which seemed to be running low in most members of the guild – and she should have been that person.

Pausing she glanced back at the town, where most of the rubble had been cleared away. "Micheal, can you... can you get me a ride back to Oshibana? I need to get some help on this."

Her employer nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem. Just let me have a word with Sam and I'll get back to you."

A nod later and Lucy had turned south. That sinking pit in her stomach had bottomed out, morphing into a nasty void. Why couldn't Natsu sit on his hands just _once._

* * *

><p>AN: And now Natsu's vanished. The chapter you get to find out what happens to Gray and Erza. :)

The next update'll be June 29th. Normally it would be around the 20th but I had to add a week to accommodate for my exams. ^^" Last year of highschool I can't afford to flunk them.

Please send MiyuTanemura some love : D (In the form of reviews) she's mine, and this stories, savior : P Without her all 'limbs' would be spell like 'limps'.

Review Please! : D I love to here from you~

I  
>I<br>V


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The beast snarled and leaped toward him all teeth and claws. The last chuckles died on his lips as Gray winced, preparing himself for the impact.

It didn't come.

Blood spilt onto his legs and he glanced up to the chilling sight of the wolf fending off a white-blue tiger, its edges sharp and cold. On reflex, Gray snapped around, expecting to see – he didn't know what he expected to see, but he was met with the familiar sight of an old comrade.

Lyon stood behind the ice mage, hands poised over the open air with palms facing down. There was a grim expression dragging the corners of his mouth down, and his eyes twinkled with contrasting pleasure. He had just rescued Gray and now he would never let the other live it down.

Another wolf joined the fray, followed tightly by two more. They tackled the tiger to the ground, which howled it's disgust to the sky. The tiger's fangs clamped down on the wolfs neck, and the foul beast dropped with a gurgled yelp of pain.

Gray wasn't going to let Lyon take all the glory. Quickly, he pressed his own palms together tightly, dragging the magic from his depths, and launched the static ice magic across the forest in sheets. In seconds the trees were painted with the same transparent white-blue that the tiger was. In a quick response, the tiger shattered. A mighty roar was the only warning Gray got before he was forced to roll out of the way, least he be cleaved in two. The ice dragon's scales scrapped against Gray's skin.

"What would you do without me, hmm, Gray?" Lyon sang smugly as he strolled up to the mage's side.

Gray growled his response, before asking, "Where's Erza?"

"Over there," the Lamia Scale mage said, pointed to his right. "I'm sure she is doing far better then you were."

"Shove it already, would you Lyon?" Gray kicked aside the body of a wolf, watching as his ice slowly climbed over the corpse, burying it. "Why the hell are you here anyway? We were supposed to meet Lamia Scale over at Mt. Hakobe."

The platinum headed mage slipped a hand under the others arms, pulling him to his feet. Gray's ankle throbbed. The ice mage didn't care to use Lyon's help but his current state demanded it.

Lyon said nothing at first. Not until the clearing came into view. Gray's and Erza's things littered the forest floor and Lyon picked up Gray's shirt, tossing it to him. Gray was happy to slip into it.

"It was an intuition; partly."

Gray scowled. "That's a load of bullshit. You don't have enough intuition to get yourself out of a cardboard box. Let alone find us in the middle of the jungle."

That received Gray a sharp glare. "We had decided to keep on the road nearest to the forest. It was either that or we would wonder too close to a wyvern den for Sherry's comfort. We heard the howls when we passed through and decided to investigate. Mountain wolves do not attack people often and it was unnerving to hear. You should thank us for rescuing you, Gray. Without us you would be dog chow."

"I don't owe you nothing," Gray growled. "Sherry is no where in sight and I didn't ask you to come help me, or even come into this forest."

"Very well."

Gray started to work along the path that Erza took. He was forced to limp, stepping lightly on his swollen ankle. It was definitely broken, he could feel the bones crunch and grind against each other whenever any bit of weight was pressed down onto it. Luckily, he did not have to go very far before the red head emerged from the trees, she had a long sword slung over her shoulder and blood was splattered across her armour in a pollock of gore.

Behind her trailed a smaller girl with pink hair; Sherry. As soon as she caught sight of Lyon she dashed from Erza's shadow to stand before him. A smile split her face happily.

"I heard from Sherry, how you got here," the red head said to Lyon. Picking up her own things, she dropped her weapon back into the pocket dimension that all her gear was kept in. "We should head to Mt. Hakobe before anything else happens here."

"What about Gray's ankle? He can barely walk."

Gray shot Lyon a deadly glare but it was too late, the damage had been done.

Erza bent down, trying to get a better look at the wound. "Gray, can you sit down?" she asked, directing him to a stack of grass. Gray had no choice but to listen to her.

At the edge of the trees, they could hear the steady growling of wolves, echoed by the yipping of forest vulcans.

"We don't have time for this," Lyon complained. For once Gray had to agree with him. His ankle did hurt like hell but pain was something he was used to.

"He's right. Look I can freeze it until we get out of here, then we can deal with the problem."

Erza scowled, but she nodded her agreement. "I'll carry you out of here if all else fails, but indeed, Lyon is right. I do not want to risk staying here for any longer. We could take them, but with Gray injured that is not a risk I am willing to take."

Gray nodded, pressed his hands together and gathered ice around his foot. The chill bit into his flesh but he ignored it. In seconds the ice had settled and he rose, testing his weight. It held. The chill worked as an effective numbing agents, and the solidity supported him.

Then they were off. Gray was moving at an awkward lop, with the others jogging along beside him. Erza, apparently, did not like his pace, and was quick to sling him over her shoulder. They were able to double their pace then. Embarrassment twisted Gray's stomach around and around to the beat of Erza's steps.

"How much farther?" he complained, when a severe lurch jolted him off her shoulder.

"Stop complaining. Just suck it up and hold on, you'll know when we get there." The ice mage snarled; Lyon was really getting under his skin.

"We _are_ here," Sherry interrupted.

She was right. A second later the four of them burst through the trees. Gray was quick to demand to be let down, but they didn't stop. They continued to run into open land metres away from the forests border. Only then did Erza finally put him down.

"Gray, let me see your ankle."

He let the ice melt, watching the residue slip into the breeze like dust. Delayed pain laced up his leg, and he grit his teeth to suppress a pained groan and to hide it from Lyon. The other still had that same smug expression on his face. Then Erza started to paw at the joint. She was slow and light but he squirmed nevertheless. The more she inspected the wound the more her borrow furrowed.

At last, she leaned back. Sherry quickly slipped in with bandages, but Erza stopped her with a quiet hand and a shake of her head.

"So?" Gray grunted. "What's the verdict?"

The red head scowled. "The bones are shattered. I don't know how this happened but you shouldn't go on any further without having it treated by a doctor."

"But we still have to get to get to Mt. Hakobe. We're closer to that then any village."

"There is no temporary solution for this Gray. You need medical treatment as soon as possible or your foot might have to be amputated."

Gray froze. Reality hurt like a bitch. He could lose his foot. He couldn't lose his foot! He couldn't let that happen. The was-

"The closest places are Onibus, Kunugi, or Magnolia. But to get to each of them you would have to go back through the forest," Lyon stated. Those options were immediately ruled out by the mention of going back into the forest. If they went around it in the first place then Gray wouldn't be in the mess he was in in the first place. "So that only leaves Shirotsume or circle around to Hargeon."

"Circling around could take weeks. Much more than going to Shirotsume. If we do that then we might as well go on to Lamia Scale. That way we could avoid the forest all together."

"Do I get a say in this?" No one listened to him. Apparently Gray didn't.

"The doctor in Shirostume isn't qualified for something like this. They send all their seriously sick either to Blue Pegasus or to the capitol. They won't be able to handle Gray's situation," Sherry reported sadly. "We have no choice but to bring them to Lamia Scale, Lyon."

The other ice mage scowled. He obviously didn't want his almost-brother in his guild. Or he didn't like Gray's chances if they had to bring him all the way down south to Lamia Scale. But it was closer – or at least easier to get to – than any other place they knew of.

"Fine," Erza said. Her tone announced the end of the conversation; the decision had been made. They were going to Lamia Scale.

* * *

><p>AN: A little past the promised date and it's solely my fault. ^^" I kinda neglected to upload it yesterday and I apologize.

Now you get to see what became of Gray. And Lyon's in it :) I like Lyon - ish. I have a love/hate relationship with the guy...

Much credit to the wonderful miss MiyuTanemura for beta'ing this. I'm surprised my horrible, and bountiful, mistakes didn't scare her away.

Review's would be greatly appreciated :D Many please's


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

After the first day's travel Gray was sore from all the bouncing. He hadn't walked a step but his whole leg throbbed anyhow. All the while he made a point to bite back the pain and scowl at the situation. Erza had been carrying him all day that day, only setting him down when the group had stopped to eat – and catch the food they ate – and when he needed to take a leak.

All that day they hadn't met a single hostile animal, or man. That unnerved Gray more then he would say. Even Erza seemed on edge. Her shoulders were tense under Gray's biceps. Neither Lyon nor Sherry seemed to share their discomfort, however. Sherry seemed content to flirt with Lyon throughout the entire walk while Lyon carried out the casual side of a conversation with Erza. Gray wouldn't mention how Lyon purposefully ignoring him made his blood boil.

"Let's stop here for the night," Erza stated, interrupting Sherry mid-sentence.

She stopped next to a rock and allowed Gray to slip of her shoulders, where he landed roughly on one foot. Gray didn't fully manage to mask the strangled sound that escaped him. He hated the looks the others gave him. Lyon didn't even come up with a snarky comment about it. Erza's words still rang in the young fire mage's mind; his leg may be amputated if they don't get to Lamia Scale fast enough.

"We can keep going," Gray scowled. He shot daggers at Erza. "The sun only set a few hours ago." The memory of Ul's missing foot, substituted by ice, was in the foreground of his mind. He didn't want that. But there was a his foot was growing increasingly numb and that icy appendage was slowly becoming a reality.

"I'm sorry Gray, but we can't keep going. We'll leave early in the morning, I promise."

Gray sighed and sat down on the rock. His foot echoed his sigh, sharp pins and needles rippling through it before all feeling vanished.

Sherry took off in search of firewood and Erza headed in the other direction, looking for food. That left the two ice mages. Lyon took a spot on the ground across from Gray.

"What?"

Lyon shrugged and smirked. "How's your foot?" he asked. The question sounded forced, strained.

Gray tried to move it, to show that his foot was alright. Even just one toe would get that point across. Nothing happened.

"Well?"

"I-" Gray started, swallowing a lump in his throat. He stared at his foot and tried again, still, though, there was nothing. No movement at all. "I can't move it."

Lyon shot to his feet, stalking over to Gray before the younger could say a word. "Can you feel anything?" he asked, massaging his foot softly.

Gray shook his head.

The older began to unravel Gray's bandages. He had a heartbreaking expression on his face, his brows knit together and his mouth was set in a deep frown. What was revealed justified that look.

The wound under the gauze the grotesque. Puss leaked from the gash where the bone had broken the skin. Green veins extended from the wound, reaching up toward the knee. Gray knew exactly what was going on and he knew exactly what his fate would be. The wound was infected and if it spread any farther up then Gray could lose his entire leg.

"All of this after only one day," Lyon whispered.

"Forget it!"

With a quick tug, Gray stole his leg back. Lyon glared at him but didn't try and take it back. He didn't need to, Gray figured, Lyon had seen enough to get the picture.

Then Gray heard the dreaded clank of Erza's armour. "Forget what?" she asked, her voice hard even though she clearly hadn't seen Gray's leg. Said ice mage swallowed a stone of anxiety as Lyon gestured to the wound.

The moment in between Erza whipping around the rock and her speaking was painful. All the while Gray made a point to keep his gaze bitter. It was easier then before. The whole day he had been feeling tinges of pain echoing from the gash, every step has set the bones knocking together, but there was no such pain now, only the faint echo of feeling.

"I'm sorry Gray," was the first thing she said. And she meant it too. Her eyes were downcast and sheets of red hair fell down over her face.

"There has _got_ to be another way!" Gray bit. But his eyes travelled down to his leg, unbidden, and found his answer amongst green tinged skin. The two before him didn't even have to reply, the look that flashed on his face must have told them that he'd gotten it. A look of pure horror that sunk in through his skin.

"We'll do it after Sherry gets back. For now we need hot water and blankets," Erza ordered. Lyon responded but Gray saw no sense in listening. Whatever was going to happened would happened, with him no whats going on or not.

He watched Lyon's retreating figured, heading out to look for water he suspected. _Too bad their ice didn't produce it,_ he mused. No, their ice may be cold but it was also dry; just a giant mass of frozen air.

"Fuck it all," Gray muttered, coming back to reality. He felt the pain in his palms then and, looking down, he found his hands balled into tight fists, knuckles white. When he opened them he found crescent moons, beads of blood blooming in them to fill the crevices, where his nails had dug in.

Across the expanse Erza was saying something to Sherry. The warrior looked stressed, her armoured hand was pressed to her forehead. She wasn't meeting Sherry's gaze, which constantly flicked back and forth between the two Fairy Tail mages. "-also need something for an anaesthetic."

"Neither one of us have anything like that," Sherry replied. Gray couldn't help wonder when she had gotten there; how long had he been zoned out for.

"I'm not going to ask him to be conscious throughout the wh-"

"You don't have to." Gray rose to one foot. He wanted – needed – to look the girls in the eye. "I'll do it anyway."

"It will hurt. Unbearably so," Erza said with the same hard tone she had used when they had first discovered the infection. Gray just matched the look she was giving him, his face stoney.

At last she gave in. "Very well," she resigned. "When Lyon gets back we'll begin."

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry, This was supposed to be updated over a week ago now but I... never had the chapter planned out at all and I no idea what I wanted and... *shuts up*  
>Sorry :<p>

Also. I know I've been going between Natsu&Lucy and Gray&Erza this entire time but this seemed to fit more. But the next chapter shall be Natsu :) Sorry you don't get to see how Gray will get out of _this_ mess so soon.

The next chapter should be out _August 24, 2012_ so please hold tight till then. ^^" (And kick me if I miss it again. :T)

_This chapter is unbeta'd/unreread. Hopefully that will change by the end of the week. _


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Running through the forest, scented with lush pines and pollinating flowers was, Natsu decided, one of the more unrivalled things in life. His feet hit the ground, barely feeling the twigs and the needles that attempted to poke up through his sandals, and, filling his lunges to their capacity, he pushed himself forward with a surge of energy. The rapidly falling night did not bother the fire mage as much as it should have.

Indeed, he had been running for hours now. Yet his limbs didn't drag. Like a hound, adrenaline pulsed in Natsu's veins, creating an unstoppable force powered by the chase of a scent with an unseen source.

Back in the clearing he had smelled the usual scents that you would expect: plants, rabbits, dirt. Along with those, however, Natsu had managed to catch the whiff of something alien to the space. The mage had hoped to catch the vulcans' scent, who constantly stank of dung and wet earth, and follow it from the clearing, but oddly that wasn't what it had been. It had been more along the lines of cayenne pepper and poppies.

In light of his discovery, Natsu took off. Only once he was deep within the forest did he think to tell Micheal where he was going; which happened to be absolutely nowhere, since he had been running for so long and was still surrounded by wood. Lucy would probably worry. The thought had slipped from his mind soon after. His brain had the texture of ice, unless something was really sticky, most things just happened to fall away.

- la -

Night had come on quickly. The darkness had caused Natsu to fall countless times, the thick foliage effectively blocking out whatever moonlight there happened to be. After he had busted his nose against a rock or root, the dragon slayer decided that it was high time that he give up on running. Walking cut his speed in half, but he had the notion that the trees would part soon.

A few more paces confirmed his gut instinct.

The trees parted twenty feet before him. Beyond the border lay bushes and grass. Most of everything in the space was wild and over grown. Most. Even at such a distance Natsu could make out a beaten path leading out to nowhere.

The thrill of discovery echoed in his blood; the fire mage doubled his pace, luck and enthusiasm driving him over the jutting roots that threatened to send him tumbling.

In the clearing he stopped, doubling over with a stitch in his side and a shortness of breath. For hours he had been running. Finely his abused body seemed to be given him his dues.

Ignoring the worst of it was the most he could do. After a minute of recovering the mage picked himself up and shuffling along the path.

The scent of the cayenne pepper and poppies, some foreign perfume, he decided, was strong. The pepper alone was powerful and made him uncomfortable. Shaking his head did nothing to dispel the felling, either. Shrugging off that as well, Natsu hurried along the path – which turned out to be a rather short one.

Not five minutes had elapsed before Natsu found the edge of a cliff. His foot hanging dangerously close to the edge.

"Too close," he muttered, forcing down a lump in his throat and looking over the side.

He couldn't see the bottom. It was just mist and blackness.

_I should wait, _Natsu thought. There was no visible path to take down and even his vision, tuned as it was, had been impaired by the thick, tangible darkness. _Searching in daylight would be better. _

His body seemed to agree with him on that note. The fire mage found that he was already fighting off fatigue without even knowing it. Some point between slowing his pace in the forest and the present his high of adrenaline had faded, leaving his more or less withered. This he was only realizing now.

Abandoning the search of the cliff, Natsu turned to the field. Every where looked the same. Grass, grass and more grass. There would be no bed to sleep in tonight. Though the fire mage would miss the one Micheal had let him stay in the ground didn't bother him.

Moving in and away from the hazardous cliff, the dragon slayer started on patting down the grass to make a spongy nest. Thanks to the wildness it turned out thick, Natsu had a hard time feeling the ground beneath it; he searched too, upon lying down.

Sleep, contrary to his fatigue and dropping eyelids, did not come easily. He had a bad feeling that he was just noticing, much like his drained self. It twisted his stomach around, sending his tossing and searching for comfort on a too comfortable bed.

It was the same feeling that he got when one of his friends was endangered.

Grinning a strained smile, Natsu shut his eyes and slipped both hands under his head, curling up like a child, ready for bed. After all, Lucy was in the village. She was safe.

- la -

When Natsu woke the sun was directly above him. Darkness was quickly turned into a forgotten dream for even without opening his eyes the red-orange glow of the sun through his lids was an unmistakable and effective wake up call, bidding sleep good-bye.

The first thing he missed, besides sleep, was breakfast. The second was his sleeping bag. The third being Happy. All three had to be pushed out of his mind. Waking up had brought back the memories of the night before. Of the scent of foreign perfume and the bottomless cliff.

Pushing himself to his feet seemed like too much work for the man. Instead opting to roll to the edge and sprawl himself out along the ground before peaking out over the side.

Now that the darkness had been banished, more or less, and the mist had cleared, the bottom was more the visible. It wasn't actually that far down. Natsu figured he could easily have jumped down and survived. Not that he wanted to dare. The distance was still a little much, even for the mage.

Beyond the bottom, the dragon slayer could make out a multitude of holes that honey-coned the cliff opposite him. The network enraptured Natsu attention. The scent, now faded, must have been headed there. The guff may not have had any obvious ends but the caves had an essence to them. That essence left Natsu feeling sickened.

Before he could ration himself out of it, the fire mage launched over the edge. Finally, there was something visible in front of him.

The scent had faded but the cliffs would take a bit more then a cold night to disappear.

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><p><em>- Meant to be posted as a 'Christmas Present'. Now a month late. -<em>

Posted because of _Sora's_ review: thank you dear, I'm sorry I couldn't reply 'in person'. I still have one more chapter written. 11 will be posted in a month per my old schedule. I have written any more since September because I wasn't sure if anyone was still reading it. Not even my beta does. And I didn't really want to take time away from college work. (It's a busy, busy course that I was not wholly prepared for.

So... even though I don't want to bribe anyone into having to comment to get more please review. Tell me if you like it, if you think I should continue, or if parts need to be reworked, or even if its absolute crap. Then I'll see if I can scrape up enough free time to get this finished. Also a warning that from here on out it probably won't be beta'd so be prepared for mistakes galore.

_Sorry folks : (I blame my teachers! *shot*)_


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lyon joined the gimme with a solemn grimace on his face. By now the surreal quality of the ordeal was lost on Gray. The bowl of water that the older ice mage carried only earthed Gray; more so then his vulgar leg did, and more so then Erza did.

The red head had bitten through her lip numerous times already, now the skin around her chin was inflamed and tiny flecks of blood stained her armour. She was tried so hard not to let it show but she was worried. Years of knowing her allowed Gray to see past the iron barriers that Erza put up and into the real woman underneath. By now their whole team could.

Right now, however, Gray didn't want to.

Thinking on it, the black headed mage figured that Erza's bravado would be a great comfort. It would reassure him that everything would be alright, that he didn't have to lose his leg and that the group would get to Lamia Scale on time and his leg would be healed and he would walk on flesh legs again. As long as he saw through that bravado those thoughts would never be allowed to take root. Because of that there had been a bone crushing twisting within Gray. He wanted to throw up.

"Gray," Erza whispered, forcing her voice to remain cold and dispassionate. Gray shook his head against it. He could see past the falseness of it, so she shouldn't bother.

Once the injured ice mage gave her the okay her voice, eyes, relaxed, her eyebrows tilting up in unrestrained worry. "Gray," she tried again. This time her voice cracked with emotion. "I need you to lie down okay? This will be over as soon as possible."

"Yeah! You'll be walking again in no time."

Gray looked at Sherry. Her mouth was pulled in a half smile. Her optimistic attitude had no place here, and though she was trying to help Gray couldn't stop the bitter, choked laugh that rose in his throat.

"Sure, walking." Pressing the back of his hand into his eyes, Gray allowed his body to drop to the ground. The stones that dug into his back were a small comfort. "Just hurry up and get it over with."

Erza gave a sharp nod and then everyone was moving; Lyon dropped to the ground next to Gray's waist, hauling up his pants leg, and Sherry landed somewhere beyond his head, out of sight. The red head herself positioned above Gray's calves, her feet on either side of his as she summoned up a blade.

What Erza called from the other dimension was a katana. The hilt was a rich red, its bindings outlined in black, and with flecks of gold down the length. What truly caught Gray's attention, however, was the blade. Almost four feet in length, he estimated, amazing himself that he was in the mind to even comprehend such a thing, the sharpened edge caught the light of the moon and reflected it back into the injured mages eyes. The thing screamed deadly, but all Gray could thing about was how easy it would be for a weapon like that to cut through his joint.

Before Gray had a chance to left his head – morbid curiosity willing him to watch his teammate slice off his leg – Erza had the blade lifted. For a brief second Gray caught his reflection in the metal. How pale he looked in the light of the moon. Dark bags took refuge under his eyes and once tanned skin had morphed into something white, green, and clammy. His black hair had turned lifeless, the healthy sheen it had before taking on this task had vanished under dirt and sickness. Then he blinked and the moment was lost.

"I am so sorry," Erza said. Her voice cracked as the sword fell.

The motion was not quick. The slice was not painless. It hurt bad and it lasted a lifetime.

If the ordeal had been surreal then maybe it would have been quick, over in the blink of an eye, before the mage had the chance to process a thing. It hadn't been any bit dreamlike. As it was, Gray felt the skin bend and break underneath the force of the cut, like the blade hadn't been sharpened in decades. He felt the vessels burst and the blood flow up around the metal, around his flesh. Before it rain down his leg the sword cut past a tendon, tore through the bone, and ripped through the rest. He even felt the ground kick up when the katana dug into it, decorating the wound with brown.

Halfway through Gray shrieked: choked, throaty, gut-wrenching. He clawed at the ground, went to thrash but Sherry stopped him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into her lap long after the blade had brought up in the earth and blood began staining the ground. The fact that he couldn't control himself, the fact his body was _this weak, _ashamed him.

Then it was over, the weapon cast aside and Lyon mopping down his wound. Each time the clothe brushed against his wound, no matter how light Lyon attempted to keep the strokes, Gray's wound hissed.

Unable to help himself, Gray pushed up into a sitting position, hoping to get a better look at the still bleeding wound.

"What do we do with... you know," Sherry croaked. Gray had to pull his eyes away from the wound he had, that was inflamed and blood covered and dirt ridden, all of which Lyon was quickly amending. On the ground lay his discarded leg.

Even though the skin had already begun to lose what colour it had left the ice mage could still pick out the pussy green tinge of risen veins, the vulgarity of the skin had broken open - each of which oozed as viscus, unidentifiable liquid. The foot was thrown at an awkward angle. Beneath it the ground was stained black.

Everywhere the ground was stained black.

His leg was gone. _His leg was gone_.

He couldn't-

Gray spun a quick left, feeling his stomach heave, and vomited the few contents of his stomach to the ground. It was painful – why did everything hurt? Tears sprang to his clenched eyes, and though Erza was there to wipe them away before anyone else seen the strike to his pride still occurred.

The red head continued her sympathy administrations, brushing his hair, rubbing his back, coaxing the heaves – now dry, making it feel like it stomach would crawl out in the food's stead - away. They finally did subside, but Gray didn't sit up. It was all he could do to keep himself out of the pool he'd made. Lyon had finished dressing the wound. Blood didn't seep any more. Yet the young ice mage still didn't feel any better.

Strong hands guiding him into Erza's lap, then continued to comb through his hair, he relaxed into the touch a little. Surrounded by the scent of blood and puke, complete relaxation was impossible.

"Gray," the other ice mage started, his voice truly hard and dispassionate, for which Gray was thankful for. "What do we do with your leg?"

Gathering air, Gray glanced from his discarded leg to what remained attached. "Take of the shoe, and... Throw it away." The own distance of his voice shocked Gray, but he shrugged it all. That would fade in time.

Somewhere to his right Sherry gave a shocked whine. "Y-You want to just... throw your own leg away?! But-"

"Yes!" he snapped. Gray felt Erza's grip tighten. He couldn't care less. "It's useless now. Just a leg. What would you have me do with it? Fucking bury it in the ground and weep over the loss? Throw it away."

Much to his thanks, Lyon was already moving. The look of disgust that flashed across his face was satisfying to say the least; to be fair, Gray would have probably made the same face too if he had the energy to do much of anything. Nevertheless, it earned the older ice mage a soft 'thanks' before he slung the leg into the trees. Lyon looked, like Gray most likely did, all too happy to get the thing out of sight.

"Gray?" Erza said. Her hands were still moving. For a warrior, she could be so soft when she wanted to be. "Try and get some rest. We won't be leaving until morning."

Gray was thankful for the order, her voice still stern as it soothed him to sleep. It was a small semblance of normalcy even as the rest of the world seemed to turn on his head.

The last thing Gray saw before slipping into sleep was Lyon turning toward him, a grim smile plastered on his face. "I guess this is just one more way you're like Ul."

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><p>Again, thank you Sora for you review. : ) You're a doll and I hope you continue to enjoy this story. <p>

This is the last chapter I have written and intersession is approaching fast so my time will be consumed wholly and utterly with our film. Hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of everything done over reading break. . .

Reviews are always very welcome, keeps me procrastinating. :3


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